Social.

A few thoughts I threw together based on the questions I asked two days ago and your answers. Obviously, this is a lot of big-picture kind of thinking and a lot more thought needs to be put into the details, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on what I’ve got so far.

I recorded this after three straight days of traveling trying to get home from Mauritius — stuck in planes and airports — so my apologies if my voice is a little raspy. You might have to turn the volume up a bit. Okay, a lot.

Thanks to everyone for sharing your insight. I’ll pass along more information about the reason I embarked on this project in a few weeks.

Failure to flip.

I’ve wanted to buy a Flip video camera ever since the first one came out. If they shipped to Canada, I probably would own three, the latest being the ultra-sexy Flip Mino.

The problem is that not only do they not ship to Canada, they won’t take Canadian credit cards and their Amazon shop won’t let Canadians purchase the camera either. Super-FAIL.

Truth is, I’m in the market for a video camera.

Since I’m not willing to jump through hoops to buy a Flip Mino, I’m looking for your recommendations for a camera I can buy at a local electronics store. I don’t know much about video, but here’s what I think I want from my device:

• Portable: I don’t need my camera to be as compact as the Mino, but I do need it to be small enough to toss into my Crumpler without a second thought. Small enough to hold in my hand and unobtrusive, but it doesn’t necessary have to be small enough to be fit in my shirt pocket.
• Easy to Use: I’m no techno-geek — if it’s not in a browser, I’m usually not very adept at it — so any camera I use should easily plug the video output into iMovie. I can make it work from there, of course, so any camera with a USB output that easily ports to iMovie should work.
• Rechargeable: One of the big problems I had with the original Flip cameras was the lack of USB-recharge ability. The Mino has solved that, but since I can’t get a Mino, any camera I buy is going to need to be able to be recharged by USB.
• Digital: Duh. I’m not going to worry about tapes or stuff like that.
• Affordable: My budget is a bit larger than what I’d expect to pay for a Mino, but I’m still not looking at shelling out big cash. This is a fun purchase, not a necessary buy, so I’d like to keep it under $300 if at all possible.

So that’s my list of needs. I don’t think they’re that extensive, so if you have any recommendations — and I really hope you do, because I know nothing about video cameras — please share them with me. Really appreciate all your help.

Really achieving my childhood dreams

I have a friend who lives in London that makes me incredibly happy every time I see her. Not only do we always have a wonderful time together, but she always challenges me, asks me questions that get me thinking about the world and my place within it.

Last night, as we were out for a few drinks at Jewel, she asked me a question that has actually been on my mind for a few days: “What are your magical goals and dreams?”

Funny enough, this wasn’t the first time I was thinking about my childhood dreams in the past few days. Early last week, I came across an inspirational video of a lecture delivered by Randy Pausch entitled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams.”

For those of you that haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend downloading the high quality version of the lecture on iTunes for free.

In light of my friend’s question and Randy’s lecture, I decided to think about my childhood — actually, teeenage — dreams. More specifically: what were my great goals for my life ahead when I was thirteen years old?

Confessions of a teenage cheeseball

I recently found an old school project that I had done in eighth grade where I had listed my life goals. If you laugh, I don’t mind: I know I was a little cheesy and cutesy back then. The funny thing is, I still am.

1. Be published (preferably regularly as a staff writer) in The New Yorker.
2. Make someone (even a stranger) smile and really feel happy every day.
3. Be the kind of father where my child honestly thinks I’m the world’s greatest dad.
4. Always be aware of the beauty around me and the inherent goodness in everything and everyone.

Done laughing at my mushy schmaltz? Well, that’s a glimpse into the mind of Sameer Vasta at the age of thirteen.

Confessions of an adult cheeseball

The scary thing I need to admit now is that the mind of Sameer Vasta at the age of thirteen isn’t much different from the mind of Sameer Vasta at age twenty-six. To this day, those four dreams are still very much alive and still drive my every action every day.

And for those of you that think I’m being under-ambitious and have picked dreams that are too easy, let me tell you that getting published in The New Yorker is probably the easiest of tasks on my list. Think about it.

The other three require constant reflection upon the things I do and the way I interact with the people and places around me. They are, as my friend said, my “magical goals and dreams,” and nobody says magic is easy.

Happy New Year!

Sorry if I confused you by the title of this post, but today, March 21st, is the new year, so I thought I’d send some warm wishes your way.

Still confused? Well, along with being the first day of spring, today is Navroz, the celebration of the Persian New Year. It’s a bit of a big deal in my family, and we’re not the only one: millions of households around the world will be celebrating the holiday today.

In honor of the new year, I’m making some goals for the upcoming twelve months. They’re not quite resolutions, because I won’t be upset if I don’t get them done, but they are large goals that I hope to work towards as this year goes on:

• Learn how to play the guitar.
• Learn how to ride a bike.
• Find new meaningful work.
• Launch Cinegasmic.
• Try out some yoga (not sure what kind).
• Save more money and invest it wisely.
• Buy a video camera and create video content.
• Start eating healthier.
• Make valuable connections in my industry.
• Slow down and unplug.

I’m going to need your help in making a lot of these happen. I need places to find cheap used guitars and bikes, suggestions on what good beginner camera to buy, ideas on what type of yoga is best for me, and introductions to the right people who can help me in my career development. Let me know if you’re willing to help in any way, I’d really appreciate it.

In the meantime, enjoy the new year. Navroz Mubarak!

Barack Obama has a place in history

At this point in the US presidential race, it doesn’t really matter who wins. What matters is that Barack Obama has managed to reinvigorate Americans to look at politics as a system for change instead of simply an exercise in power.

I have praised Obama on his oratory skills before — going so far as saying that he was the best orator American politics has ever seen — but his speech yesterday brought political discourse to a whole new level. Instead of simply denouncing Reverend Wright’s previous comments and simplifying the race issue, he used the opportunity to address the complexity of (and lend relevance and validy to) America’s inherent frustrations with the way things have been happening in their country.

For those of you that haven’t seen the video, I strongly recommend you check it out in its entirety to understand the true historical impact that his speech will have on American society.

History textbook writers across the nation woke up this morning with an important task ahead of them: to incorporate this speech into the historical canon of American politics. If there’s anything high school students in the USA need to learn, it’s how to take adversity and turn into inspiration — how to use other people’s anger and frustration as a springboard for enlightened discussion and motivation for change.

I’m not here to tell you to vote for one candidate or another. I’m here to share with you the vision of a man who truly believes in the potential of the people in his country.

In a post earlier this year, I explained why I felt Obama was what America needed more than anyone else:

Obama was not only insightful and intelligent, but he also had a passion. Not a passion to win an election or to gain power and respect — instead, he had a passion to discuss what was on my mind, to learn more from who I am, where I came from, and what I knew. It is this passion to learn, to grow, and to inspire that makes me hope that Barack Obama is the next President of the United States of America. After all, if America needs anything right now, it’s the passion to learn from the people within and outside its borders.

I have not wavered from that sentiment. Obama is a man that embraces potential and rigorous discourse instead of petty politicking. That’s my kind of world leader.

Remember how, four years ago, some Americans threatened to move to Canada if George W. Bush won the election? Well, if Barack Obama wins the election, I’m threatening to move to the United States of America.

Update: In even more impressive news, it turns out Obama wrote the speech himself. No speechwriters involved. Wow.

Twitter is more than just status updates

I am, what some may call, a Twitter evangelist. I preach the gospel of Twitter to everyone I meet. Most people look at me in confusion.

Today, my work has been made easier.

Thanks to the great folks at CommonCraft, I can now show people a simple video that explains Twitter in everyday English.

Once you’re done watching the video, go sign up for a Twitter account and then let me know so I can add you as a follower. Then, come back and read why Twitter is so much more than what you saw on the video.

Twitter is conversation, links, and ideas

Once you get used to the status update functionality of Twitter, the next logical step is discovering how the service is an excellent tool for asynchronous conversation. Like those in a chat room (from the old days of the internet), your conversations on Twitter are (usually) open to the public. This allows for fresh infusions of ideas and it also allows facilitates the discovery of new people to follow who have similar interests or stimulating ideas.

Conversation, undoubtedly, leads to ideas that reside outside the Twitter framework. This, in fact, is what I believe is the true power of Twitter: the ability to share links and ideas to people that want to engage with those same links and ideas.

Slowly, Twitter has been replacing my RSS reader as my main way of discovering good content. Essentially, following good people on Twitter lets me have access to personally-selected curators of the web, leading me to new places with every link they post.

What’s great about this targeted link-sharing is that the conversational aspect of Twitter comes back into play, allowing users to engage and interact with the links and content being shared.

Twitter is what you make it

I know people that are using Twitter for many other reasons than the ones I outlined above. In the end, Twitter isn’t just what you see in the video (though it’s definitely a great starting point) — instead, Twitter is anything you want to make of the most addictive asynchronous messaging platform to come about in years.

So go sign up and let me know so I can follow you.

Harnessing the power of play

I’ve always been intrigued by innovative ideas that are integral to the development of human capacity and potential, particularly when it comes to healthcare and the alleviation of poverty.

That’s probably why the idea behind PlayPumps International appeals to me.

PlayPumps allow local communities to access clean drinking water without the necessity for intensive labor, electricity, or fuel that usually comes with drilling a water well. Instead, they “harness the power of children playing” in order to pump water to the places that need it most. Watch this video for a quick explanation.

Sure there are several issues — child labor, misuse, advertising, etc. — that come from having such a project, but the fact remains that the installation of these pumps is bringing clean water to communities where this water was otherwise difficult to obtain. The discussion around the ethical and social issues behind this technology is one that needs to happen, but the underlying result of the project is noble.

I’ll make it a point to do some more research on PlayPumps and their model of social entrepreneurship before I decide to make a donation, but I just wanted to share this to show yet another example of how the smallest innovations can help change the world.